


Hannibal shorts

by Feygan



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Actor AU, Headcanon, M/M, Meta, YAHF, short pieces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 03:09:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11050065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feygan/pseuds/Feygan
Summary: Short pieces, meta, and whatever.





	1. Not Another Hollywood Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Actor AU where Will Graham is invited to a dinner party at the home of A-list actor Hannibal Lecter.

NOT ANOTHER HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY

Being the gay love interest had become his life. It was the role he was most known for playing: The naked Ganymede the camera would seductively make love to as he pretended to sleep amongst tousled sheets.

He was always the young lover that would lead the male or female star astray. He was the side lover that would break apart marriages or soothe a shattered heart. He'd been "discovered" in bed with one of the main characters in three of his last four movies.

Part of Will wanted to feel insulted. But he'd been born and raised poor in Louisiana; he couldn't make himself turn down sure money.

Which didn't mean he couldn't dream. Couldn't urge Beverly Katz, his agent, to spread his head shot around. Couldn't go to a party with his once co-star Alana Bloom to hopefully talk his way into a real movie.

"Do I have dog hair on my pants?" he asked.

Alana snorted elegantly and waved her hand. "You look fine. Straighten your tie."

Trusting her, he tugged his necktie straight and stood up. He squared his shoulders and faced the double-doored entrance that led into the home of A-list actor Hannibal Lecter.

"I'm ready," Will said. It was better to get things over with than to give himself time to panic.

Alana gave him a thoughtful look. Then she rang the doorbell. He saw that her fingernails were painted a dark plum color.

Then one of the doors opened and Will suddenly wasn't sure what to do with himself. He wouldn't have expected Hannibal Lecter to answer his own door.

"Alana." Thin lips curved in a smile and reddish-brown eyes shone with fondness. "I was beginning to worry you weren't going to make it."

"Hannibal." Alana stepped into his arms and they enacted a graceful half-hug and cheek kiss greeting that left Will feeling awkward and desperately out of place.

"And who is this?" Hannibal asked as soon as Alana stepped back.

"This is Will Graham. He's my plus one for the evening."

"I see." Will felt stripped bare when he came under the focus of Hannibal's attention. "It is very good to meet you. I am Hannibal Lecter."

"I know," Will said, then blushed. "I... I mean, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for having me tonight."

He let himself be hustled into the house with Alana, and didn't raise an objection when his jacket and scarf were taken from him. He simply handed them over when prompted and watched dumbly as Hannibal hung them in the hall closet with Alana's long red trench coat.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but Hannibal Lecter was different than he'd thought. Seeming less the action star, and more someone so elegant and put together that Will felt gauche next to him.

"I hope that you enjoy your evening," Hannibal said. And Will felt the brush of a hand between his shoulder blades. "I enjoy having friends for dinner."

"Uh huh." Will fought to keep from hunching his shoulders. There was an inappropriate prickle of awareness traveling over his skin. It was a reminder that he'd had a crush on Hannibal Lecter ever since he'd seen him mostly naked in that Roman gladiator film when he was seventeen.

Twenty-four year old Hannibal Lecter had made a lasting impression on him. One that was currently reminding him that Hannibal was in the room with him. That they were both single. That there were probably a dozen beds in this massive house, and flat surfaces everywhere.

*Pull yourself together*, he ordered himself. He needed to make it through tonight without embarrassing himself.  
He could go home and jerk off as much as he wanted as long as he made it through dinner and the drive home. It could be his reward for good behavior.

"Please, come this way." Hannibal held his arm toward the door in a gesture for them to precede him. "You are not quite the last guests to arrive, and I must stay here to greet our late friends."

His smile at Will was warm. "Alana knows all my guests, and I'm sure that she will introduce you?" A glance toward Alana that gave Will a chance to breathe.

Those eyes flashed over him one more time, then Hannibal was opening the door and waving them in to the dining room. And Will was struck by the physical beauty of the gesture. Of the contrast of brights and darks in the three-piece suit that would have looked garish on anyone else. It made his fingers itch for a camera, bittersweet at the thought of such beauty being lost forever.

He stumbled after Alana, glad when she laid her hand against his arm. It reminded him where he was.

He drew in a deep breath. It was time to shine.

Will Graham smiled beautifully at the room. It was the smile he'd practiced in front of countless mirrors and perfected in front of the cameras. And with the smile he put on a more extroverted personality, one that had a quick laugh and an easy confidence.

Will strolled around the room and smiled as Alana introduced him. He didn't know anyone else at the party, but he recognized the names of some theater and movie producers.

He and Alana had finished their first circuit of the room and were beginning another when Hannibal came in with his errant guests--Director Frederick Chilton and one of his newest stars, Matthew Brown.

"Friends, now that everyone has arrived, let us all sit to eat." Hannibal went to the head of the table and stood behind the chair. His hands gripped the chair back, the strength of his fingers obvious. "Please, be seated. We have some delicious food on the menu tonight. Your taste buds will be delighted by the experience, that I promise you."

Will followed Alana to the place setting with her name card in front of it. He held her chair, then once she was seated took the guest seat next to hers. He spared a smile for the white jacketed young woman that came from the kitchen to pour the wine. Then he focused on charming his end of the table.

And if he found his eyes drawn to Hannibal throughout the evening, he figured that he could be excused for giving in to the magnetism that was Hannibal Lecter.


	2. He's a Well-Respected Man

What kind of psychiatrist and life partner would Hannibal be if he WASN'T a serial killer and cannibal? Say, he received therapy?

HE'S A WELL-RESPECTED MAN

He was helped as a child and grew into a kind yet cold, non-serial killer surgeon. // He had a cruel thought while operating. A woman died.

So he gave up surgery. Felt like he needed a change of scenery. // A few years later he's one of Baltimore's most respected psychiatrists.

He is asked by Jack Crawford - in a request that sounded like a favor from Alana - to speak to a Mr. Will Graham. Then Jack calls the man in

And it's instant, the attraction he feels. The only regret is that Will doesn't seem to feel the same. // Hannibal recommends a psychiatrist

He tells Jack that he cannot be the one to treat Will. // "Why?" the man asks. It makes Hannibal smile - such outrage! // "Ethical dictates"

"I find myself with a bit of a crush, you see." He smiled, saintly. "I think I would like to speak to Mr. Graham. To become his friend."

He ignored the look Jack gave him. The tone that took on a sharp edge. // He didn't particularly like Jack Crawford. His wife was a gem tho.

It was such a pity that she was dying. // It made him wonder how Jack would respond when she told him. Would he soldier on? Or shatter?

Hannibal left Jack and went to his athletic club. // He swam for a solid hour before he trusted himself enough to stop. To float gently.

He goes to group therapy sessions and works to fight his darker tendencies. He'd been diagnosed with various personality disorders.

Its why he'd studied psychology in school: Trying to find the answers to his own mind. // He'd learned coping strategies, distractions

Because sometimes he was that angry grieving boy again. Sometimes that gaping emptiness inside where a conscience was supposed to be -- but

where a beast lived instead -- it craved the misery and pain of others. It whispered of how fragile the human body was, so easily broken.

And he fought that temptation. He fought it by exhausting his body and quieting his mind. // He changed into loose clothes when he got home.

He ate the dinner he'd left in the slow cooker. Then he settled cross-legged on his study floor and meditated for several hours. Until the temptation had gone away. // Hannibal hummed to himself as he prepared for bed. He felt a pleasant lassitude flowing through him.

His mind had its darker corners and lurking monsters, but he didn't give in to them. // It took effort, but Hannibal Lecter was a good man.


	3. Eat Your Friends and Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young man makes an unfortunate costume choice when he visits Ethan's Costume Shop one Halloween.

Browsing the racks of Ethan's Costume Shop, he found his eyes drawn to the mask and straitjacket combination against the wall. When he looked closer, he saw that the costume included a pair of hospital-style pants and a white tee shirt bundled in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

"Hm. 'Hannibal the Cannibal,'" he read. "Interesting."

The price was $18.95, which was--barely--within his ridiculously low budget. It seemed like kismet that he would buy the outfit.

Pulling the crumpled $20 out of his pocket, he headed toward the cash register. He had a feeling that this Halloween was going to be unforgettable.

* * *

He'd been in his cell, and now he was standing in a cramped bathroom with the sounds of an obnoxiously loud party vibrating through the door. It left him a bit confused... and peckish.

He pulled the hated mask from his face and dropped it in the garbage. He sneered at the straitjacket loosely draped around his shoulders and sent it to join the mask. Then he washed his face, straightened his hair, and riffled through the cupboards and drawers until he found something that made him grin.

Hannibal Lecter left the bathroom with a box cutter loosely held in his fist.

He didn't know how he'd come to this place, but he knew that tonight would be memorable.


End file.
